This is art as resistance and refuge—a bold, collective declaration that gender-affirming care saves lives, challenges every rigid boundary placed on our bodies, and transforms pain into power through connection, truth, and unapologetic humanity.
This project is a radiant celebration of transgender lives and the lifesaving power of gender-affirming care. Still, it’s also so much more—a bridge for connection, understanding, and transformation. Through this work, we illuminate the intricate performance of gender, exposing how rigid binaries shape all of us, cis and trans alike, in our journeys of self-affirmation.
“GAC was born from a passion for art and a belief in its transformative power.”
Curator
This project is a radiant celebration of transgender lives and the lifesaving power of gender-affirming care. Still, it’s also so much more—a bridge for connection, understanding, and transformation. Through this work, we illuminate the intricate performance of gender, exposing how rigid binaries shape all of us, cis and trans alike, in our journeys of self-affirmation. Art has always been a force of revolution, a beacon of truth—and that’s precisely why those in power seek to dismantle and defund it. But we refuse to be erased. Gender Affirming Care Saves Lives is not just a statement; it’s a movement fueled by pain, passion, pleasure, and PEOPLE. This is how we fight back—boldly, unapologetically, and together.
Curator and Creator
Eli Rigatuso, he/they, is a queer transmasculine Two-Spirit of the Menominee Nation. He is a writer, storyteller, filmmaker, photographer, and visual artist whose work interrogates identity, culture, colonial legacy, and healing. A proud member of the LGBTQIA2S community, Eli embraces their role as Two-Spirit, using creative expression to both honor ancestral traditions and unearth the ways colonization has shaped—and silenced—their voice.
Our artists represent a spectrum of expression. They include folks who identify as Two Spirit, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming.
Lillie is an artist whose work embodies the profound beauty of transformation and reclamation. As a transgender woman, her life’s navigation has involved “dismantling and rebuilding cycles—both internal and external”. This journey of self-discovery and renewal informs her art, which focuses on transforming what was once discarded into something vibrant and purposeful.
Steph Patzer is a self-taught artist whose relationship with art began early and has remained a constant thread throughout her life. While her creative practice has ebbed and flowed over the years, art has always served as a vital outlet—one rooted in instinct, experimentation, and personal expression.
Tami Nebesniak, 51, grew up on a family farm in Nebraska and discovered her love for sewing through her grandmother, Anna. Encouraged by her early passion, she studied sewing throughout high school and initially enrolled at Stephens College for Fashion Design before ultimately pursuing a degree in Psychology. She married in 1999 and has two adult children, 24 & 22. Tami’s oldest child has been transitioning since college.
Bart Vargas is a Visual Artist, Educator, and Advocate from Bellevue, Nebraska. He received his BFA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and his MFA from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Once there was a child who swallowed colors. I don’t mean it ate a broccoli stem and turned green. I mean, this child really gulped colors, and they became part of it.
We are currently seeking sponsors. Your support would help ensure that this project remains community-centered, artist-supported, and accessible—while amplifying voices that are too often marginalized or silenced.
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